1. Field
This invention relates to providing an aggregation feature for code updates, and more particularly relates to automatically finding and downloading firmware code updates.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the sophistication of computers increases, so do the number of different parts that need to be maintained. For example, a server may be made up of a variety of different physical computers. A blade server includes numerous different components that require maintenance. For example, components such as an advanced management module (AMM), Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) (SAS) Switch Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) controller, Data Storage Server (DSS), Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), server blade Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), and server blade BMC require updates on a regular basis. Where components are not operating with the most recent version of code, problems in the system often result.
However, maintaining all components with the most current version of code can be a difficult task, which is compounded by the number of distinct vendors contributing to a particular system. Since components often come from different vendors, an administrator usually needs to visit numerous sites to get code updates. For example, ten components may need firmware updates. In the worst case scenario, the user needs to manually look at ten different websites (whether they are HTTP, FTP, or some other class) and determine whether the components are already using the most current version of the firmware, or whether she needs to download a code update.
This need to constantly check for code updates, and the need to constantly survey different websites to do so, imposes considerable costs. It increases cost of ownership as the task is time-consuming and requires considerable effort by the administrator. In addition, if the administrator misses a code update, the out of date component can cause trouble in the system as a whole. This requires additional time and effort on the part of the administrator, who has to spend additional time diagnosing the problem before realizing that it is caused by an older version of code.